Fox's Tails
by Fairycake513
Summary: Thoughts on the significance of Kyubi's nine tails, and why the kitsune became a demon in the first place. Inspired by Reflected Scars, by JadeTiger. Rated for future animal cruelty.
1. First Tail

DISCLAIMER We do not own Naruto or anything connected with it, except a few copies of the manga.

::Tail 1::

It was a good life, if simple.

She was able to tell where the opening to the Outside was by the scents, and the vague sensation of light through her closed eye-lids, and she was able to identify her litter mates and her dam by scent as well. She could even tell when her dam had been Outside, by the multitude of scents she picked up.

Her life had a predictability about it. Her dam would leave, and be gone for a while, and when she returned, she would smell of Outside, and would feed them. If any one of them needed extra care, their dam would provide it; she was good to them.

Then, one day, their dam was gone for longer than usual. When she finally returned, her movements didn't sound right, and she smelled not only of some strange new creature, but also of a heavy coppery scent as well. That had been the last time their dam had ventured out; she stopped moving and grown cold soon after that.

Eventually hunger had started to pinch at her and her litter mates, without their dam to care for them. One by one all of the others had grown cold and stopped as well. She began to hate the smell of the strange creature that she some how knew had caused this change in her world.

If her dam hadn't smelled like the strange creature, she would never have grown cold and stopped and the horrible stench of Stopped wouldn't be filling her den.

Eventually, with hunger pinching at her she buried her nose in the tainted fur of her kin and slept. She couldn't remember, after that.

::A/N::

Fairy-chan: You'd better explain.

Devil-chan: OK, OK. It's like this. In the title I did mean 'tail' and not 'tale'. It's a play on words you see. This story is about the significance of the nine tails of Kyubi (who is a female in this story!). The premise is that each of the nine tails represents a horrible death and the last death is what drove her to give up her innocence and become a demon. Just wait, if I get around to writing them, the other chapters will make more sense.

Angel-chan: Oh! So every chapter is the 'tale' of one 'tail'! Hee hee! I get it!

Fairy-chan: ::Rolls eyes::

Devil-chan: Exactly! Well, ja, minna-san.

Fairy-chan: Yeah, ja.

Angel-chan: Ja ne!


	2. Second Tail

DISCLAIMER We do not own Naruto or anything connected with it, except a few copies of the manga.

::Tail 2::

When first her eyes had opened, she had been filled with wonder.

Before, she had found herself, at odd moments, with the feeling that she had already done things. Her life, up 'till that point, had consisted mainly of begging for meals and playing and mock-fighting with her equally blind litter-mates. Then her eyes had opened.

The world became a new place; full of color and light. Not long after that, their dam took them out of the den. She had smelled Outside before, of course, but now, for the first time, she was experiencing it first-hand.

It was the most wonderful thing she'd ever anticipated. She loved to go Outside and tumble and wrestle with her litter-mates. They were playing in just such a manner the day she found the strange-smelling, round, shiny, entity.

She sniffed, carefully; the scent was vaguely familiar, something she'd smelled before, the way she'd felt she'd done things before, prior to her eyes opening. Cautiously, she approached the glinting object, wary of the vicious looking teeth. Eventually, when she was sure it wouldn't suddenly attack, she began to move just a little bit closer.

She jumped in surprised shock when she heard a sharp snap, and immediately connected the sound with the searing pain in her leg. Yelping she tried to pull her self free, but struggle as she might, her efforts did nothing to alter her situation.

A few days later her predicament was the same, save that now hunger pinched her belly, as well as the torment of her captured leg. As the world began to turn dark, she remembered where she had smelled the scent on the trap, for that's what it was, before.

She had smelled it last time she'd died, too.

::A/N::

Fairy-chan: Well...

Devil-chan: Yeah...

Angel-chan: ::Outraged:: How could you be so mean?! That's horrible! Animal-abuser!

Devil-chan: She's gotta've had a pretty horrible past, repeatedly, to become a demon though, don't you think? I mean, I really like pieces with kyubi, male or female, so it's not like I want to torture her! Well, OK, maybe just a little.

Angel-chan: You horrible person! ::Sobs::

Fairy-chan: ::Rolls eyes:: Anyway, that's it, I guess... Ja.

Devil-chan: Yeah, ja minna-san!

Angel-chan: ::Still sobbing:: Ja ne!


	3. Third Tail

DISCLAIMER;We do not own Naruto or anything connected with it, except for a few copies of the manga.

-:Tail 3:-

The world was a place full of bright colors, and wonderful scents, and new places to explore, and very nearly without limits or boundaries. She loved the feel of the sun on her fur, and the teeth of her litter-mates as they tumbled and fought and played. It was a good way to live; a meal when she needed one (their dam was very good at telling when they were hungry), always someone to play with; just about everything she needed or could ever want.

There were a number of different places that she could hide; places that were excellent for ambushing her litter-mates and tumbling them over to nip at their ears. Her favorite out of all of them was the clearing between the stream and the big rock.

The clearing was filled with stumps and piles of logs that were perfect for mock-hunting; it was where she played most often with her litter-mates. On this particular day, the sun was shining so brightly that she had to squint to see at all. Her eyes narrowed to thin slits, and to look at her, one wouldn't think she could see at all. She might have looked menacing if she were bigger, or if the corners of her mouth weren't turned up in a vulpine version of a grin.

Yes, the clearing was a good place to play, but today she was here for another reason; the clearing was also the location of her favorite sunning spot. She had managed to escape her dam and litter-mates long enough today to scamper off to the clearing where her favorite sunbeam touched down. Today she was here to relax.

She clambered up the middle pile of logs, not quite to the top, just between two of the longest ones. The logs below her and to her sides were longer than the ones above her, creating a tiny, open-topped den, flooded with golden warmth.

It was not difficult to fall asleep.

When she awoke, it was to the sensation that something was very wrong. The scent of the clearing had changed. It was no longer the clear coolness of the forest; now there was a heavy, pervasive smell, reminiscent of… something, something that both was and was not familiar. She jumped up in fright – in terror – and stood in her little den, trembling.

This scent… Why was it so frightening to her? What _was_ it?

She peeked over the side of her temporary den, and shivered at the sight of the strange, hairless creatures, covered in strange leaves, shouting and tumbling in the clearing. The way that they played reminded her of her own games with her litter-mates…

She started as one of them made a sudden, loud noise and gestured in her direction.

She pressed herself back against the logs as the creatures moved forward, reaching at her with big, fleshy paws! She bit the nearest one, and experienced a moment of satisfaction at the startled yelp and the metallic taste of blood that her sharp little teeth drew.

And then, even as those clammy paws withdrew, another pair was reaching for her, and this time, they smelled oddly – of dead things and strange compounds – this time, her teeth had no effect, and she was pulled out of the safety of her den by those strange, shiny, terrifying appendages.

The next thing she knew, she was enclosed in darkness. Clinging material enfolded her, along with the raucous sound of the frightening-smelling creatures.

Suddenly, she found she couldn't breathe! The icy hands of the river's water laced her fur, its wet fingers swirled around her and invaded her lungs as she struggled frantically!

She felt herself begin to slip away, and she remembered…A dark den, smelling of death, starvation, and…something…A metal trap, with the same smell, biting into her leg, as she starved and bled…

She was dying again.

-:A/N:-

Lovely. Well, we're sorry for the lack of update for…good lord, a year and a half now! Anyway, there have been issues (see bio), and now we have a question.

Should this story be continued?

If there's no interest, we'd just as soon not continue, because it'd be a whole lot more work now (see bio for details), so let us know! Also, if you'd like to see this continue, have you any ideas for more deaths?

-- Ja!


	4. Fourth Tail

Disclaimer: Naruto? Not mine.

::A/N::

Sorry for the wait, if there's anyone waiting.

A new format, as I have decided to continue the story on my own. D and A have moved, and there were some other issues as well. Long story short; though we keep in contact, they will no longer be participating. S'okay though. Onwards.

Thanks to _mermaid princess luchia_ and _tehokamiluva_ for death suggestions.

Next update will be no more than a month (I hope).

::Tail 4::

She was hungry.

Not starving, but something to eat would definitely be agreeable right at the moment.

She sniffed at the base of a tree, searching for the scent of a rabbit or maybe a field mouse.

There was always the possibility of chicken.

She knew that the pink, hairless creatures kept chickens, just waiting to be eaten, in the next valley over, but recently the big creatures had taken to trying to keep her out. The extra fencing was proof of that, and the fact that they raised quite an uproar every time that they saw her out there.

Still, she was hungry, and the chickens were available. As long as she avoided attracting attention, she would be fine.

Carefully, she crept up to the edge of the clearing where the chickens were penned up, keeping low to the ground and slinking along on her belly. She paused, looking around for and of the chickens' keepers, and sniffing the air cautiously, just in case they were lurking out of sight somewhere.

There was no scent of them; just the chickens, and something new.

A sharp, acrid scent, heavy and metallic, but at the same time smoky and stifling.

Well, it wasn't alive, and that meant it was unlikely to be a threat.

She moved in, wriggling under the fencing and coming face to face with the chickens.

As she selected her prey and moved in for the kill with a hasty pounce, the chickens began to scramble about and fuss madly, making as much noise as they could, as though hoping to drive her off by the din alone.

It was too late. Her sharp little teeth had already caught the object of her attention by the neck, and with a vicious shake of her head she snapped the creature's neck.

It went limp beneath her, and, after pausing for a minute to make sure it was dead, she began to drag the twitching corpse toward the fence.

However, even of the ruckus the chickens had raised did not save this one's life, it did catch the attention of the creatures that kept them.

With a shout, one of them ran out of the wooden den behind the chickens, gesturing angrily with the shiny stick in one naked paw.

She froze, chicken still in her mouth, waiting to decide on a course of action until she knew what the creature would do.

Then she dropped the bird and ran, as the creature started in her direction at a rapid pace, bringing the stick up so that it was pointing at her.

A loud noise, and then a sharp pain in her side, a burning tearing sort of hurt, dropped her in her tracks. She felt her fur begin to grow wet and slick with blood as she lay there.

Breathing grew more and more difficult, and she could hear the gurgling of her blood as she tried to move the air in and out of the pain wracked body.

The chicken keepers approached, and, as she slid into darkness, the scent of them called up other memories—gripping, gnawing hunger; a crushing pain in her hind leg; water flooding her nose and mouth.

This smell…

TBC


End file.
